How to stop Home Owners Association foreclosure on your house

[angelheartbeat7]

My daughters house is being foreclosed on and is set to be sold on July 1 2014. My daughter took her sisters and I in and if this sale is not stopped we will be homeless. She is in Africa and did not receive her mail that I forwarded to her. it still remains unopened so I have asked them to send it back to me. One letter was addressed to occupant. I opened it and it said Kings River Village Home Owners Association were foreclosing on her property and Constable Ron Hickman would be selling it between the hours of 10 and 4. They also said she owes over 8000 dollars in legal fee's. What can I do to save her home? I make very little money as a care giver.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I don't have much of any detail. That said, without having money to pay, there is really little I can think of that will change the inevitable outcome. Imagine you were owed money. The person who borrowed it from you isn't paying back what you agreed for a very long time. As a result, you keep losing a great deal of money every month because the debtor won't pay you back and doesn't have much chance of paying you back.

What should have happened is that the moment you and your daughter realized that you could not afford the home, the home should have been sold rather than it being allowed to be going into foreclosure. Now I understand that you're mentioning that your daughter didn't receive an email. But foreclosure does not happen overnight. What about the default notices? A summons and complaint with regard to the outstanding debt? The notice of judgment?

If you make very little money as a care giver, it would seem that you will need to find a new place, which the bank seems to have been funding for quite a long time. Unless you can find some reason why the bank would agree to postpone the sale, they will not postpone the sale. They will simply tell you to find a new home. And if you put up resistance without a plan, all of those additional costs get added to the bill. Unfortunately, without knowing more, the above are my general impressions.

 

[army judge]

My daughters house is being foreclosed on and is set to be sold on July 1 2014. My daughter took her sisters and I in and if this sale is not stopped we will be homeless. She is in Africa and did not receive her mail that I forwarded to her. it still remains unopened so I have asked them to send it back to me. One letter was addressed to occupant. I opened it and it said Kings River Village Home Owners Association were foreclosing on her property and Constable Ron Hickman would be selling it between the hours of 10 and 4. They also said she owes over 8000 dollars in legal fee's. What can I do to save her home? I make very little money as a care giver.

Usually, a lien can be placed against a home in Texas.
It is extremely rare for a homeowner to be ousted and his or her property sold at auction.
In your case, an alleged $800 debt it would be something I have never seen done in Texas.
That said, I haven't seen everything.

Have you contacted your daughter?
Have you attempted to discuss the matter with the HO?
Have you tried to arrange for a lawyer?
Have you tried to arrange payment of the alleged $800 debt?
You can't just sit and do nothing.
I suggest you make immediate contact with your daughter.
I have traveled all over this little planet, and have lived in (or visited) what some would consider many remote places.
I've never been without (or very far away) from a means of contacting my relatives.
That includes several years serving in combat before the age of the internet.

You need to do something.
The constable will assist you (or the sheriff) in contacting your daughter.
The consulate of the embassy of the nation she's visiting in Africa will also get a message to her.
The US Embassy will assist you in getting her any emergency message.
This would be considered an emergency message.

Your taxes, her taxes, my taxes, all of our taxes fund this valuable government service.
Try reaching out to our officials at the US Deportment of State as noted above.

You can contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at (888) 407-4747 or (202) 647-5225.
You can also contact the Consular Section (American Citizens Services Unit) at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
See also the U.S. embassy and consulate contact information in their Country Specific Information pages.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country.html

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Judge - I think the OP is saying that her daughter owes eight thousand dollars in legal fees in addition to what is already owed upon the home. Those are probably the enforcement fees for a delinquent mortgage and everything else that follows.

 

[army judge]

Judge - I think the OP is saying that her daughter owes eight thousand dollars in legal fees in addition to what is already owed upon the home. Those are probably the enforcement fees for a delinquent mortgage and everything else that follows.

LOL, thanks professor. I just noticed the third zero.

But, even at $8,000, foreclosures by third parties are rare in Texas.
Texas is very debtor friendly.
In most cases, where a lender isn't seeking the foreclosure, a lien is placed against the deed.
Even Texas governments can't easily foreclose and force a sale to satisfy property taxes.
I'm unsure how the HOA has gotten away with this.
That said, I'm sure we need more parts of the story to properly assist the OP.

I guess my message is inactivity won't help the OP or her daughter.
If they get engaged, they can get an equitable solution for all.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I agree with you. As far as the HOA... that's a good point. It's apparently not the bank but the HOA. It makes me wonder whether there is a foreclosure on the home by the bank. $8,000 in legal fees... I'm just wondering if something else is going on here.

Yes... we would need more details about exactly what is in default and how much. One can only wonder whether the unpaid HOA fees are the only issue and even less than the "legal fees" that were allegedly incurred. Very true. So... to the original poster, you'd need to provide more information about ALL of the outstanding issues concerning the home, how many months the fees weren't paid, what the total unpaid amount is and whether there is a larger problem than just a few months of HOA fees in issue.

 

[army judge]

I agree with you. As far as the HOA... that's a good point. It's apparently not the bank but the HOA. It makes me wonder whether there is a foreclosure on the home by the bank. $8,000 in legal fees... I'm just wondering if something else is going on here.

Yes... we would need more details about exactly what is in default and how much. One can only wonder whether the unpaid HOA fees are the only issue and even less than the "legal fees" that were allegedly incurred. Very true. So... to the original poster, you'd need to provide more information about ALL of the outstanding issues concerning the home, how many months the fees weren't paid, what the total unpaid amount is and whether there is a larger problem than just a few months of HOA fees in issue.

Another question came to mind as I thought further about this one, Professor.

Let's assume the home isn't owned by the OP's daughter.
No forced sale could go forward, without the lender being heard.
The lender's rights are supreme to all.
If the home is appraised at $150,000, and the owner still owes $50,000, no court will order a forced sale and deprive the lender of remedies and due process.
Hence, another reason a lien would be placed against the deed/title.

Foreclosures also take forever.
Why would the owner take a trip to Africa in the middle of this mess?

 

[angelheartbeat7]

I feel your advice is most helpful. I do not feel you judged me because of my profession. I may make little money but my services allow many elderly people to continue living in their homes. Thank you! I have nothing in hand about her HOA pressing this sale on. Nothing was mailed from HOA and only two letters were mailed about legal fees from law office her HOA employed. As a mother you will want to protect your child. I watched her catch a flight and shell out thousands already. Now they are coming back for thousands more from her. I know by this law firms correspondence with her in the past, they should have had a good address and phone number for her. Don't you agree? So why not be considerate and call her, even mail her to inform her what is happening and that they are selling her home?

 

[angelheartbeat7]

In answer as to why my daughter would take a trip to Africa. I assume it was her vacation time off from work. She did not inform me she was taking a trip. We do not talk that much as she is busy furthering her career. It is my feeling she thought she satisfied the debt and it was over. I mean with no notification or bill to see what you owe, who you owe and why you owe, why would she or anyone else assume the matter still exits?

 

[angelheartbeat7]

To the Law Professor and forgive me I will try and keep up. I do not know my daughters personal business or even how she handles it. You have opened my eyes that possibly more could be going on here, but how does more going on give the HOA the power to sale her home? It clearly says on constable sale foreclosure site that Kings River Village community center verses my daughter. It continues with huge calculations of legal fees attached to her property from them. It makes no mention of bank foreclosure only HOA foreclosure and sale July 1, 2014.

 

[army judge]

To the Law Professor and forgive me I will try and keep up. I do not know my daughters personal business or even how she handles it. You have opened my eyes that possibly more could be going on here, but how does more going on give the HOA the power to sale her home? It clearly says on constable sale foreclosure site that Kings River Village community center verses my daughter. It continues with huge calculations of legal fees attached to her property from them. It makes no mention of bank foreclosure only HOA foreclosure and sale July 1, 2014.

Have you verified the authenticity of the documents in your possession?

I suggest you visit the constable's office and show him or her the materials you have received.

I have seen many cases where people FORGE these documents to scare money out of trusting individuals.

That might explain all of this.

As I've said, it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to foreclose in Texas.,

In those rare times it does happen, its usually the government dispossessing someone.

Or, take the entire kit and kaboodle and discuss it with a lawyer.

There is NOTHING much we can do, except waste your valuable time exchanging messages.

Good luck.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

In theory, a court should protect a homeowner from losing a home as a result of a minor debt. I remember the case of the woman whose home was supposedly foreclosed upon and lost her home for a debt of only $6. On the surface, this sounded like a horrendous result and one that caused noticeable outrage - and it should.

But apparently there was a lot more that went on behind the scenes that went unreported by those who should have done more research. But I guess that, if they did, they would have discovered why a judge decided that technically all was in place and that perhaps this wasn't as much of an injustice as the photo suggests. As per the article, Eileen Battisti unfortunately had racked up over $20,000 of unpaid taxes, which consists of roughly 1/6 the value of the home. I am guessing that this bill may have been one of the reasons that the home was inevitably going to be lost because someone else was paying for it -- that being the other taxpayers.

I'm not saying this to be critical of you. I certainly understand you want to protect your interests in living in the home. But if you don't know your daughter's personal business, then you need to accept how it may affect you. What I don't understand is how your daughter could leave to Africa and be unreachable for what must be weeks. You need to ask yourself this question as well.

If you want to do something about preventing the foreclosure, then you'll probably need to intrude into your daughter's personal business. Perhaps they might allow you to pay off your daughter's debt. Somehow I have a feeling that there is more here in issue than homeowner's payments totaling a few hundred dollars.

army judge makes a good point -- but typically the lender is usually on board when bills aren't being paid. Something tells me that, as he questions, your daughter's extended trip to Africa may be unfortunately a harbinger of what is to come. I hope this is not the case but there are many unanswered questions. Unfortunately nobody can help until you have some answers by asking some tough questions. Good luck - I really hope things turn out for the best for you.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Have you verified the authenticity of the documents in your possession?
There is NOTHING much we can do, except waste your valuable time exchanging messages.

We are in total agreement. The problem here is all speculation. What is needed is to obtain all the information surrounding what is happening. Your daughter left you in an unfortunate position and I would highly advise you try to get in touch with her ASAP and have her explain to you what she probably knows. Best of luck.

 

[army judge]

We are in total agreement. The problem here is all speculation. What is needed is to obtain all the information surrounding what is happening. Your daughter left you in an unfortunate position and I would highly advise you try to get in touch with her ASAP and have her explain to you what she probably knows. Best of luck.

I only offered that as a last resort, but it does happen.
I'd also verify by searching the web the identity of the alleged law firm.
In act, it would seem to me that a brief visit with the HOA could clarify a few things.
Sadly, July 1st is almost upon us.

Most constable sales involve writs of execution.
Smart investors know those things can lead to trouble with the lien holder.
I've never understood these constable sales, other that they line the pockets of the JP and the constable.

The titles are clearly at risk if buying such real property.
They normally are seized to satisfy a judgment.
But, they tend to ignore title holders.
In most cases after one would purchase the property, here comes the lender scurrying in waving their secure title. LOL

 

[angelheartbeat7]

This is not a waste of time and I got a lawyer this afternoon. He is looking into her situation and my neighbors as well. Their home will be sold and over 11,000 legal fees to be paid from HOA lawsuit against them. There is also one other lady going through this as well. She was late on her due and when she sent in the check they kept sending it back and what was 300 to pay off became over 3500. I have sent over 12 letters to people whose homes are to be sold by the HOA. I also got my daughters phone number. She should now know what is happening. I think its the right number. Her sister gave it to me. I sent her a text just 30 minutes ago but no response. I let her know her family hired an attorney to stop this sale to save her home. Also that there will be an investigation. She may be depressed and there may be more going on with her and I pray she tells me. I know in my heart something good is going to come out of this. God bless you all for reaching out to me with insight and encouragement.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Excellent -- that is what you needed to do -- reach out to your daughter and make sure that this is really just a minor issue.

It is possible that the HOA is having their law firm charge exorbitant fees for the paperwork. I have seen it happen where, on paper, these "law firms" - which may be relatives or related parties to someone on the HOA - which run up the tab to ridiculous amounts. It's difficult to say. It's very odd about the $300 refused or lost that suddenly ballooned. I wouldn't put it past a group of people looking up to buy other people's homes on the cheap. Don't know.

What I do know is this. Don't worry about whether your daughter is depressed. Better to be safe and have a home than be depressed. Hopefully you'll get to the bottom of this and all will work out. Let us know if we can be of any further assistance and keep it together and stay strong!

 

[lizzyb222]

To All who are reading "thelawprofessors" reply. . . . . Don't! Everyone owning a home in a community association, governed by cc&r's and such, needs to get familiar with how the hoa attys work. Soon you will learn that in a lawsuit such as the one angelheartbeat7 posted on 6-17-14, out of the $8,000 owed, the past due assessments (what the actual tenant ledger says) is likely well under $1,000. Don't give up hope. The letter they rec'd stating they owed $8K did exactly what (the hoa atty., and mgmt. company that sent it) wanted it to do. . . . . to scare & threaten the owner and their family! One thing you can try is to arrange a private mtg. with just the board members of your hoa & the owner of the home, (in the above case, that would need to be the daughter). Plead your case to them! Afterall, the board members are THE ONES ( Not the mgmt. company nor the hoa atty) who ULTIMATLY VOTE, in an Executive Session, on whether to proceed with foreclosure actions or whether a payment agreement of sorts can be made. The hoa likely has a money hungry snake for their atty., and he may just have to be Let Go!

and yes, I know that I am well over a year later w/my replies...... fyi: homeowner associations are not in the business of lending money, nor are the cc&r's to be "interpreted' as a contract for same. Association attorneys can, and will, take matters into their own hands when filing lawsuits on behalf of the hoa. Our hoa atty seemingly "cuts-n-pastes" our association documents to fit whatever legal stance he happens to be taking. You've heard about rogue Boards? Try keeping up with a rogue Attorney! The atty representing our hoa, for over a decade, is so GOOD at being "Bad", that he has been reprimanded by the Az Bar Assoc 1/2 doz. times in the past decade for unlawful lien foreclosures, incl. violations of ER 3.3(a)(1) -(knowingly making false statements of material fact or law), and ER 8.4(c) -(conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation) and he is still licensed to practice in Az! Unfortunatly, once your hoa's got one like that, well.....just don't give up on trying to get rid of him!

 

[disagreeable]

Alrighty then ..............................................:nuts

 

[army judge]

To All who are reading "thelawprofessors" reply. . . . . Don't! Everyone owning a home in a community association, governed by cc&r's and such, needs to get familiar with how the hoa attys work. Soon you will learn that in a lawsuit such as the one angelheartbeat7 posted on 6-17-14, out of the $8,000 owed, the past due assessments (what the actual tenant ledger says) is likely well under $1,000. Don't give up hope. The letter they rec'd stating they owed $8K did exactly what (the hoa atty., and mgmt. company that sent it) wanted it to do. . . . . to scare & threaten the owner and their family! One thing you can try is to arrange a private mtg. with just the board members of your hoa & the owner of the home, (in the above case, that would need to be the daughter). Plead your case to them! Afterall, the board members are THE ONES ( Not the mgmt. company nor the hoa atty) who ULTIMATLY VOTE, in an Executive Session, on whether to proceed with foreclosure actions or whether a payment agreement of sorts can be made. The hoa likely has a money hungry snake for their atty., and he may just have to be Let Go!

and yes, I know that I am well over a year later w/my replies...... fyi: homeowner associations are not in the business of lending money, nor are the cc&r's to be "interpreted' as a contract for same. Association attorneys can, and will, take matters into their own hands when filing lawsuits on behalf of the hoa. Our hoa atty seemingly "cuts-n-pastes" our association documents to fit whatever legal stance he happens to be taking. You've heard about rogue Boards? Try keeping up with a rogue Attorney! The atty representing our hoa, for over a decade, is so GOOD at being "Bad", that he has been reprimanded by the Az Bar Assoc 1/2 doz. times in the past decade for unlawful lien foreclosures, incl. violations of ER 3.3(a)(1) -(knowingly making false statements of material fact or law), and ER 8.4(c) -(conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation) and he is still licensed to practice in Az! Unfortunatly, once your hoa's got one like that, well.....just don't give up on trying to get rid of him!

What you don't get to do is come on this board and flame a very decent, honest person, the site's owner; who also happens to be a very good lawyer, very well informed, the owner of this site, respected withon the legal community, and my friend.
If he wants to unban you, good for you, otherwise, GOODBYE.
As far as your advice, keep spewing what could end of being libelous and hopefully one of those lawyers will sue you.
An investigation by the state ethics or bar committee doesn't mean a lawyer is disbarred or even guilty, it means the lawyer is (or was) simply being investigated.
Lawyer or not, we all are innocent until proven guilty, unless you come of this forum and flame the owner!!!